Jaw face for pipe tongs



J. P. RATIG\AN JAW FACE FOR FIRE YTONGS March 20, 1951 Filed Oct. 14, 1947 N H r M4 V N 10 :bit projects for engagement with a pipe.

-:bitsmay be retainedwithin broached slots in the tongs, and are arranged parallel to the axis of 3 slotted nut retainer Patented Mar. 20, 19 51" *uN1-"r Eo"sures PATENT OFFICE 2,545,630 J JAW FACE from PIIIPE TONGS James P. Ratlgah, Los 'Angel es, calm, assignor "to J. P. Ratigan, Inc-., Los Angeles, Calm a corpu ration of. California Application c'tober14, 1947, 'Serialltlo. 779,795

1 Claim. (Cl. file-#186) or: the heavy-duty type, and has particular referfence to all-improved re laceable bit construction. In my Patent No. 1,942,492, issued January 9,

:to be retained within the body portions of the tongs so that only one longitudinal edge or each The thepr eor other material to be worked upon. This patent also discloses a castboss adjacent each slot, which boss maybe threaded so that a sits-4,1 disclose a pipe tongs wherein the teeth. or bits are. in the form or square tool stock adapted Mlr invention relates to pipe tongs orwrenches Fig. are an enlarged view of the head portion oi the tongs of Fig. 1, but with portions broken away to show the mternal construction;

Fig. 3 is a greatly enlarged view or the bit re taining construction on the bod member of the tongs of Figs. 1 and 2; and

l 'i'g. 4 "is a greatly enlarged section taken along the line IV-IV of Fig. 2 and accordingly corne and thereby secure a bit in the respective slot.

My present invention utilizes. this construction of my-.pl 'i0r patent, but constitutes an improvement thereon in that it is not necessary to remore the nut. from the threaded boss. Instead I employa slotted nut that maybe rotated to align Zthe slotted portion with the bit so that the bit may be removed. After replacing the bit, the nut may be rotated tight against the associated por- 1 non of the tongs, at which position a solid portion of the nut will overlie the bit and retain it in the bit slot.

My presentinvention also incorporates a bit retaining slot that is open on both ends, compared to the single-ended slot of my prior patent. This double-ended construction permits speedier and more accurate breaching of the bit slots, and the bits are retained at the other end of the slot by means of a nut threaded onto a cast boss. This nut at the other end of the slot, however, 1 may be solid inasmuch as the bits are preferably removed from one end only of the particular bit a bit retaining slot construction wherein the slot is open at both ends and which has associated therewith bit retaining mechanisms.

a I- Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent in the following description and claim, considered together with the accompany- I ing'drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation view of a presently preferred embodiment of my invention as applied to a conventional pipe tongs used in the oil drilling indiistry;

for removable bits for pipe 7 .nut may be threaded thereon to overlie the slot spending to Fig. '3. 4

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a pipe tongs It may include a body or handle member ll that is enlarged at one end, to form a head l2 that may be slotted as at B to. receive a movable jaw 14 plyoted thereto by means or a pivot bolt IS. The

jaw it is preferably curved so asto dennea pipe the jawand also receiving opening l6 defined by portions of the head l2.

The jaw I4 is preferably urged towards a clos movement, of the jaw I 4. may be limited by the engagement of the lug It with a bottom, edge 22 of the jaw-receiving slot I3.

The handle H and the jaw I4 are preferably of cast construction, although they could be of forged construction. I find that steel castings are suitable for this purpose, and have the desired strength. In this connection it should be noted that the jaw l4 may be strengthened by the inclusion of a rib 23 on the inner curvature thereof, as well as by a widened tip portion 24 having a thicknesssubstantially equal to the head member l2.

The pipe engaging teeth of the tongs may be in the-form of removable bits 25 retained in squared slots 26 having one side thereof opening inwardly to the pipe receiving cavity l6. One such bit may be retained in the head portion l2, and another in the tip 24 of the jaw I l. While I have found that two such bits are sufiicient, additional bits may be added if desired, particularly on the jaw l4.

' The bit retaining structure of my invention is'best illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, and there it will be noted that bosses 21 may be formed at .b' 'olsses could be welded to the head [2' or to the w jaw l4. These cast bosses are greatly superior a spot-faced portion 31 of the head 12 and likewise the tip 26 so that a very definite and tight contact with the body portion l2 may be 0b 1 tained. 'Accordingly the nut 29 may be slotted,

as at 32 in a portion that will not overlie the bit 25 when the nut is tightened solidly against the body member 12. However by unthreading the nut 29 through a partial turn, the slot 32. may be disposed over the bit 25 to permit it to .move out of its slot 26. The bit may then be removed and a new corner of-the squarebit positioned for pipe engagement, or if all four edges of the bit have already been dulled by use, a

29 may be rotated to its set position, whereupon :a solid portion will overlie theIbit 25 and retain it in its slot 25.

V In this connection it will be noted that the solid nut'29'at the other end of the slot 26 is generally permanently maintained on its threaded stud 27 for thesole purpose of closing off the other end or the slot 26.

If desired, however, both nuts 29 and 2 8 could be .slotted so as to make the bit removable from either end, although this is not ordinarily de-. ,sirable or necessary.-

My preferred method of assembly of the slotted nut 29 to the tongs is to thread the nut 29 while still in a normal or solid condition on its stud new bit may be inserted. Thereafter'the nut v2! until it bears securely against the spot-faced portion 3|. This angular position of the nut with respect to the slot 6 is noted, and thereafter the nut is unthreaded from the stud and -the slot 32 cut in the nut at a position that will not overlie the bit slot 26. In this way the precise placement of the slot 32 on the nuts 29 may be effected. Y

4 While I have described my invention with respect to a specific embodiment thereof, I do not limit myself to this embodiment, nor otherwise, inasmuch as various modifications and changes could be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of my invention. Accordingly the disclosure is merely-illustrative and not definitive of my invention.

I claim:

A pipe wrench comprising: a casthandle member including a slotted head portion; a cast jaw member pivoted to the handle member at the slot so as to define 'a pipe retaining cavity between the head portion and the jaw member; an angular slot disposed in the head portion and the jaw member and having an edge opening on the cavity and each' slot having open ends; angular bits inserted in the slots and having an angular configuration corresponding to that of the slots so that an edge willproject outwardly-into the cavity; cast bosses formed adjacent each end of each cavity and having threads formed thereon;.a solid nutthreaded on the bosses at one end of each slot; and a slotted nutthreade'd 0n the bosses at-the otherend of each slot, whereby the slotted nut may be rotated to align its slot with the bit receiving slot and may be tightened on the boss to cause a solid portion to overlie the 'bitretainingslot so as to lock the bit therein. 1

l JAMES P. RATIGAN.

REFERENGES CITED The following references are' of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS I Number Ratigan Sept. 16, 1941 

